UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies Business School
APPRECIATIVE WORK ENGAGEMENT: ‘WITH GOOD IT IS POSSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE SO MUCH MORE THAN WITH BAD’
Case-Study from Leadership Perspective
Master’s thesis, Innovation Management Hanna Jasmiina Leppänen (300162) November 31, 2019
Abstract
UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies DepartmentBusiness School
Author
Hanna Leppänen
Supervisor
Esa Hiltunen
Title
Appreciative Work Engagement: ‘With Good It Is Possible to Achieve So Much More Than with Bad’: Case-Study from Leadership Perspective
Main subject
Innovation Management
Level
Master’s degree
Date
31.10.2019
Number of pages
75+2
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to explore ways for encouraging work engagement with qualitative research from a leadership perspective. Competitive factors in today’s business environment require companies to take into account employees well-being and to pay attention to those factors that help employees in finding their work engagement in order for them being able to succeed in a mentally demanding work environment without burning out, working more efficiently, feeling better and being more innovative. Compared to the amount of research from problem centric well-being at work there is still relatively little research on well-being and work engagement with solution-oriented, positive and appreciative approach.
The data collection method of this study was semi-structured interviewing with five management experts in the Helsinki metropolitan area in 2019. Participants were selected with a snowball sampling technique to ensure adequate knowledge of the topic of the interviewees. The interviews gathered data based on experience, knowledge and ideas on how work engagement can be supported. The study utilized appreciative approach in interviewing and in data analysation.
As main results of the research, based on the job demands-resources model and management expert interviews a figure of multidimensional ways for supporting work engagement through work resources is presented together with a new concept of appreciative work engagement. The new appreciative work engagement model for management consists of elements in organizational, tactical and cultural level. In the results of the research a comprehensive picture of different elements for supporting work engagement was created. The findings also present interconnections between different elements.
Based on research results, the elements for supporting work engagement will become more concrete and more clearly grouped for the use of different stakeholders and organizations. In the further and future studies, the researcher suggests that the appreciative work engagement model for management could be researched and tested from the employee perspective.
Key words
work engagement, positive psychology, appreciative approach
Tiivistelmä
ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO Tiedekunta
Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekunta YksikköKauppatieteiden laitos
Tekijä
Hanna Leppänen
Ohjaaja
Esa Hiltunen
Työn nimi (suomeksi ja englanniksi)
Appreciative Work Engagement: ‘With Good It Is Possible to Achieve So Much More Than with Bad’: Case-Study from Leadership Perspective
Arvostava työn imu: ’Hyvällä on mahdollista saada aikaan paljon enemmän kuin pahalla’: tapaustutkimus johdon näkökulmasta
Pääaine
Innovaatiojohtaminen Työn laji Pro gradu Aika 31.10.2019 Sivuja 75+2
Tiivistelmä
Tämän Pro-Gradu tutkielman tavoitteena on tarkastella laadullisella tutkimuksella työn imun tukemiseen tähtääviä toimia johdon näkökulmasta. Kilpailutekijät tämän päivän liiketoimintaympäristössä vaativat yrityksiä huomioimaan henkilökunnan hyvinvoinnin sekä kiinnittämään huomiota niihin tekijöihin, jotka auttavat työntekijöitä löytämään työn imun, jotta työntekijät menestyvät henkisesti vaativammassa työympäristössä palamatta loppuun, tekevät työtä tehokkaammin, voivat paremmin sekä ovat innovatiivisempia. Ongelmakeskeisen työhyvinvoinnin tutkimuksen määrään verrattuna ratkaisukeskeisestä, positiivisesta ja arvostavasta näkökulmasta tehtyä tutkimusta työn imuun ja hyvinvointiin liittyen on yhä suhteellisesti vähän.
Tämän tutkimuksen tiedonkeruumenetelmä oli puolistrukturoitu haastattelu viiden johtamisen asiantuntijan kanssa pääkaupunkiseudulla vuonna 2019. Osallistujat valittiin tutkimukseen lumipallo-otannalla haastateltavien riittävän aihealueen tuntemuksen varmistamiseksi.
Haastatteluissa kerättiin tietoa työn imun tukemisesta kokemuksen, tiedon ja ideoiden pohjalta.
Tutkimuksessa hyödynnettiin arvostavaa lähestymistapaa haastatteluissa ja aineiston analysoinnissa.
Tutkimuksen pääasiallisina tuloksina, työn vaatimusten ja voimavarojen malliin sekä johdon asiantuntija haastatteluihin pohjautuen, esitetään uusi arvostavan työn imun käsite sekä kaavio moniulotteisista tavoista tukea työn imua työn voimavarojen kautta. Uusi arvostavan työn imun malli johdolle koostuu organisatorisesta, taktisesta ja kulttuurisesta tasosta. Tutkimuksen tuloksissa luotiin kokonaisvaltainen kuva erilaisista elementeistä työn imun tukemiselle.
Havainnot esittävät myös eri elementtien väliset yhteydet.
Tutkimuksen tuloksiin perustuen työn imun tukemisen keinot ovat konkreettisempia ja selkeämmin ryhmiteltyinä eri sidosryhmien ja yritysten tarpeisiin. Seuraavissa ja tulevaisuuden tutkimuksissa tutkija ehdottaa arvostavan työn imun mallin tutkimista työntekijöiden näkökulmasta.
Avainsanat
työn imu, positiivinen psykologia, arvostava lähestymistapa
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...
ABSTRACT ... 2
TIIVISTELMÄ ... 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 4
1 INTRODUCTION ... 6
1.1 Introduction to the Topic ... 6
1.2 The Purpose of the Research and Research Question ... 8
1.3 The Structure of the Thesis ... 9
2 THEORETHICAL BACKGROUND ... 11
2.1 Positive Psychology and Antecedents of Work Engagement ... 11
2.2 Defining Work Engagement ... 13
2.2.1 The Constructs of Work Engagement ... 13
2.2.2 Burnout... 16
2.2.3 Flow ... 18
2.3 Societal Resources ... 19
2.4 The Job Demands-Resources Model ... 21
2.4.1 Personal Resources ... 23
2.4.2 Job Resources ... 24
2.4.3 Job Demands ... 25
2.4.4 Job Crafting ... 25
2.5 Theoretical Framework of the Study ... 26
3 RESEARCH METHODS ... 28
3.1 Data Collection and the Sample ... 28
3.2 Semi-Structured Interviewing ... 30
3.3 Analysis of the Data ... 32
3.4 Ethics ... 33
4 EMPIRICAL RESULTS ... 35
4.1 Organizational Level ... 38
4.1.1 Hierarchy and Roles ... 38
4.1.2 Meaningfulness, Values and Vision... 40
4.1.3 Strategy Building ... 42
4.1.4 Recruitment ... 42
4.1.5 Personal Development ... 43
4.2 Tactical Level ... 45
4.2.1 Employee Recognition ... 45
4.2.2 Balance in Challenges ... 47
4.2.3 Strength-Based Approach ... 48
4.2.4 Work – Life Balance ... 49
4.2.5 Autonomy... 50
4.3 Cultural Level ... 51
4.3.1 Positive Work Environment ... 51
4.3.2 Enabling Innovation ... 52
4.3.3 Open Communication ... 54
4.3.4 Team Spirit ... 55
4.3.5 Culture of Appreciating Differences ... 56
5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 57
5.1 Key Contribution and Managerial Implications ... 58
5.2 Limitations... 62
5.3 Future Research ... 63
REFERENCES... 66 APPENDIX ...
APPENDIX 1. Outline for the Interview ...
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to the Topic
The growing competition in the international economy of today and the increased difficulty of companies in accomplishing and sustaining success have expanded the attention of researchers, managers and leaders to try to understand factors of what motivates individuals in working context (Fried et al. 2008). As Clifton and Harter argued (2003, 111) it has been researched that the greatest opportunity for organizations’ sustainable success is employees’ talents.
Work represents nearly half of the waking life for most adults (Wrzesniewski et al. 1997, 21) and work engagement plays an important role in evaluating one’s life (Wang et al. 2016, 700).
With the increasing bankruptcies, redundancies, debts, layoffs and closures, the business environment has never been as revealed to the change, pressure and pace that now exists in work (Chalmers Mill 2010). Working conditions have become more competitive in many ways.
Even though the premises for well-being have never been better; improved equality, better technological advancements and increases in economic situation stress, depression and anxiety have not decreased and problem-solving approach and repairing shortcomings have not been able to increase human flourishing. (Järvilehto 2014, 55-56)
It has been researched (Fryer 2004, 22-23) that the companies that focus on increasing positive attributes perform better also financially. There is a demand to evaluate psychological and physical factors in working environment and improve employees’ well-being (Schaufeli 2017, 120). From a traditional perspective in occupational health psychology individual and organizational actions have been rooted in to a so-called “medical-disease” -style which suggests that when there is something wrong or something is not working interventions are carried out. A preventive approach essentially goes according to a similar logic of medical model although the intervention concentrates on future damage control instead of momentary damage (Schaufeli & Salanova 2010, 399).
Happy employees are important for organizations and research has shown that happy employees for example obtain better jobs with more autonomy, meaning and variety, handle managerial jobs better and are not as likely to burn out (Lyubomirsky et al. 2005, 825-827). A
person can be happy while working productively in improving conditions of existence.
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000, 4-13)
The interest in work engagement is connected to the field of positive psychology which has emerged at the beginning of the millennium. Positive psychology studies aspects that promote health, well-being, human strengths and seeks to discover ways for optimal functioning.
Positive psychology’s field at the subjective level concerns valued experiences including contentment, satisfaction together with well-being (historically); optimism and hope (in forthcoming); and also, happiness and flow (in current). on an individual stage it concerns positive personal characteristics that may include courage, forgiveness, originality and wisdom.
At the group level, it concerns civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward improved citizenship including nurturance, altruism, civility, responsibility, tolerance, work ethic and moderation. (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000, 4-13)
Work engagement can be viewed as a multi-dimensional concept that describes how individuals experience their work activity in different levels (Seppälä 2013, 19). It can be characterized as a fulfilling, positive state of mind in a working context that can be associated with dedication, vigour and absorption (Bakker & Leiter 2010, 182).
Employee characteristics and risk factors that are work related have been broadly examined as antecedents of work ability but the motivational aspects of human resources, such as work engagement, have not been researched the same intensity. Even though they are considered important factors related to the ability to work. There is a need not only to research the possible reasons for reduced work ability but also to identify the causes that may improve work ability.
Regardless of the growing research and evidence on the positive consequences of work engagement for organizations (Hakanen et al. 2008, 78), there is still only a little research on the work ability, health and enhancing work engagement. (Seppälä et al. 2011)
Prior studies have revealed that personal resources and job resources are the key factors of work engagement (Bakker & Demerouti 2008, 209-212). In this research the elements of encouraging work engagement through leadership perspective are discussed. This study is conducted by interviewing with the aim of painting a holistic picture of how work engagement is encouraged in today’s organizations. The interviewing method from multi organizational view provides a unique possibility to illustrate a highly engaging working environment which can be utilized also in other organizations when seeking for ways to support work engagement. Appreciative approach
will be used in order to reveal the positive side of engagement rather than focusing on negative aspects and problem solving.
The theoretical framework of this research will be foundation of work engagement, the Job Demands-Resources model together with societal resources. The JD-R model is particularly suitable for this research for several reasons. It integrates a positive focus on work engagement and provides comprehensive approach in looking to the subject. It is also flexible and can be customized to the requirements of each company and act as a communication tool for different shareholders. (Schaufeli 2017, 120) With qualitative study it is also possible to find out if work engagement is encouraged by other elements as well which have previously not been researched and reveal in a holistic picture how the job resources are currently supported in practise in the context. As work engagement is beneficial for both employees and organizations, it can be considered crucial to explore the ways to increase engagement in workplaces (Wang et al. 2016, 700).
The JD-R model will be used as a starting point of the research. This model has also been taken as a basis for the interviews. However, based on the interviews a new theoretical model of engagement will be created by utilizing an inductive approach and this model will be presented as the result of this research.
1.2 The Purpose of the Research and Research Question
This research aims to describe elements of work engagement in practise and reveal aspects that have not yet been researched for finding out what actions in today’s business environment are taken in order for encouraging work engagement. To achieve this purpose the following research question is addressed;
RQ: How work engagement can be encouraged from leadership perspective?
As described the study will take a leadership perspective. The interviewees have been chosen with a snowballing technique with the aim for being able to answer to the research question as thoroughly as possible.
The practical contribution for the participative organizations of this research is to give to the case organizations implications how work engagement could be further encouraged. The presentation of the practices will also show how work engagement can be supported in other organizations through different organizational, tactical and cultural elements.
The research question will be answered based on empirical findings of this study. There are three main concepts in this research. The first one is positive psychology which also grounds the appreciative approach utilized in this research. The second one is work engagement (Bakker
& Demerouti 2008, 209) and the third one which is the Job Demands-Resources model, which identifies job resources as creators of motivation and job demands as initiators of health impairment (Demerouti 2012, 558).
To answer the question, the focus will be on job resources and the possibilities for supporting these. The focus point on job resources has been chosen as the purpose of this research is to:
‘Present a holistic picture of elements for supporting work engagement from leadership perspective.’
Appreciative approach will be utilized for focusing on strengths and solutions instead of problems and weaknesses. With this approach it is possible to describe the viable solutions and approaches that can be utilized in future.
1.3 The Structure of the Thesis
In the second chapter the theoretical background of the research will be presented. The antecedents of positive psychology will be explained for understanding the foundation of work engagement and the appreciative approach utilized. Positive psychology plays also an important role in the Job Demands-Resources model and this model will be further described after introducing the concept of work engagement and its principles. The components of the JD-R model will be explained, and the interaction of the parts presented. Societal resources are also reviewed as the context plays an important part of this research. A graph of the theoretical framework will be displayed for presenting the focus points of the theoretical framework and for describing the previous research relevant for this study.
In the third chapter the methodological approach utilized in this study will be presented. In this chapter the sample gathering technique, interview method that was used, amount of data and participants will be described. Also, the case organizations will be briefly introduced. In this chapter the utilization of appreciative approach will also be discussed. After this the data analysing practices will be described. And finally, ethical aspects and limitations of chosen data collection method are explained.
In the fourth chapter the empirical results of the research are discussed. The results will first be illustrated in a form of a figure in contrast to the Job Demand -Resources model and further in following the whole figure is shown as the main result of this research. After this each section will be described more in detail. The different levels are divided into three main categories and under each subchapter there will be five elements that are described and presented together with translated quotations from the interviews.
The thesis will end with conclusions where the key contribution of the research will be presented by discussing the results in contrast to the research question and to the purpose of this research. Based on the results managerial implications will be discussed together when presenting the key findings of this study. After this the limitations of the research are discussed.
Finally, future research potential is brought forward.
2 THEORETHICAL BACKGROUND
In this chapter, I will introduce the theoretical background for this study and discuss the theories and antecedents of work engagement and concepts related to it. I will start by introducing antecedents of work engagement in order for presenting the basis of work engagement.
Following this I will continue by defining work engagement, the constructs and related concepts of it.
After this I will present the contextual factors, societal resources that also play an important role in this research and then move on to presenting the job demands-resources model that will later be also utilized as a bases when presenting the results of this research. When presenting the theoretical background, I am going to utilize some figures as they will help to illustrate the complex phenomena more clearly.
2.1 Positive Psychology and Antecedents of Work Engagement
The field of positive psychology is relatively young. In the 19th century, a trend towards public psychology and well-being was brought to the attention of the public, providing scientifically sound perspectives on what makes life meaningful. Improving and maintaining work ability of employees is important in increasing productivity and in preventing early exits from working life (Airila et al. 2012, 915).
The field of positive psychology has become a prevailing and emerging area of psychological study and research. Within this millennium positive psychology has expanded to multidisciplinary science exploring the phenomena of thinking and behaviour in different contexts. Subjective well-being, which can be seen to refer to individual’s affective and cognitive evaluations of a life one has (Diener 2000, 34), is a main concern in the fields of occupational health and positive psychology. In terms of job resources, leadership is a critical factor that affects work engagement. (Seligman et al. 2005)
For decades, the focus of research on working life and well-being at work has been on negative things like stress, burnout and absenteeism. In the 21st century, working life has begun to explore positive opportunities through resources. It is understood that the mere absence of symptoms of nausea does not refer to genuine well-being and happiness in the workplace.
(Hakanen 2014, 340.) Also, often companies pay attention to the psychological resources of
their employees only in the form of well-being at work. Many companies have for example annual job satisfaction surveys asking employees to evaluate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10. These studies do not tell about the attitude of employees to work. The same indicator can be chosen as well as an enthusiastic employee who is passionate about the job. Also, job satisfaction is not scientifically especially beneficial regarding productivity. (Martela & Jarenko 2014, 17–21)
The broaden-and-build theory presents that positive emotions enhance the psychological resources broaden individuals’ momentary thought-action repertoires, decrease their distress, and boost their innovative ideas and prosocial actions. Consequently, individuals with high positive affect may be more inclined to have feelings of work engagement. Work engagement can be seen as an emerging concept in positive psychology and researchers claim that with growing attention to the effects of positivity in the working place, it is also important to understand the reasons what causes employees’ positivity. (Wang et al. 2016, 699-701)
Positive Organizational Behaviour, in further referred as POB, has emerged from the approach of positive psychology (Bakker & Schaufeli 2008, 148). It can be defined as following:
Research and application of positively oriented psychological capacities and employee’s strengths that are measurable, developable, and manageable for performance improvement in today’s organizations (Luthans 2002, 59).
POB highlights the necessity of more focused studies on individual’s positive psychological conditions that are related to performance improvement of an employee or his or her well-being at work. It emphasizes the need for more focused research, theory building and effective application in positive traits, states, and behaviours of employees inorganizations. In order for making substantive contributions to organizational science, POB needs to show the added benefit of positivity over negativity. (Bakker & Schaufeli 2008, 147-149).
Moving away from solely problem oriented approach it is required to expand research focus to cover more positive aspects, in order for gaining understanding of meaning and effects of working (Turner et al. 2002, 715). Still it should be noticed that Positive Organizational
Behaviour does not solely focus on the positive view but has a more comprehensive perspective which includes both positive and negative aspects (Bakker et al. 2008, 149).
2.2 Defining Work Engagement
2.2.1 The Constructs of Work Engagement
Work engagement has become a relatively popular concept in business context as well as in research. It is characterised by work-related enthusiasm that refers to a truly positive emotional state in the workplace. Employee who experiences engagement finds work meaningful, is proud of her or his work and perseveres in difficult situations. William Khan was the first to talk about engagement in 1990’s and he described it as physical and informative presence of emotions at work. According to Kahn, in engagement of work, one exploits and expresses him or herself holistically. In the process of labour, a person throws his or her job to the fullest. Invoking the role can mean, for example, a waiter who enjoys giving joy to customers or a professor who, after decades of career, is devoted in teaching and guiding young researchers. (Hakanen 2011, 38–44)
For now, over two hundred scientific publications have appeared regarding the field of work engagement. (Schaufeli 2012) Still there are aspects in this ground to be more thoroughly researched and the importance of work engagement ought to be understood by not only researchers but practitioners as well. There are also different definitions and concepts used when it comes to work engagement. This came up also when conducting the empirical research.
for the purposes of research one term; work engagement, was utilized.
Work engagement can be considered as a broad concept. Even though work engagement usually refers to individual construct as employee engagement it can also be looked with more wide perspective. Collective contract such as a team engagement is one viewpoint as also teams may be energetic. There are also studies that have indicated that work engagement is also contagious.
(Schaufeli 2012, 4-8) There are different definitions associated with work engagement. It can be seen to be opposite from burnout or associated with commitment, involvement, enthusiasm, energy, absorption, focused effort and passion. Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, and Bakker (2002, 74) gave a commonly used definition of work engagement which is also utilized in this research;
Work engagement is a fulfilling, positive state of mind in a working context that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption.
Vigour is referred as the high levels of energy and mental resilience while working. It can be characterised as the eagerness to invest effort in one’s work together with persistence when facing difficulties. Employee is able to work even if the task itself would feel challenging.
(Schaufeli et al. 2006, 702)
Dedication on the other hand can be described with a sense of enthusiasm, significance, inspiration and challenge and pride in work one has (Schaufeli et al. 2006, 702). Dedication and job involvement – that has been described as the degree to which an employee can relate to his job and to work performed there – have similarities regarding their conceptualizations. Job involvement and dedication can be considered as stable phenomena, and the actual difference between them has not yet been clearly argued. Still dedication can be seen as a broader concept that does not only solely focus on the psychological significance of a job in an individual’s life as job involvement can be seen. (Mauno et al. 2007, 151) Vigour and dedication can be seen as being opposites from the main burnout dimensions of cynicism and exhaustion (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter 2001, 417-420).
Absorption means being deeply engrossed and concentrated in the work, which can be further characterized by difficulty in detaching oneself from the work. Work engaged employees are enthusiastic, involved and committed to the work, and they have often thrown themselves to their work so that it feels as if the time is flying. (Schaufeli et al. 2006, 702-703) In Finland at least two out of three employees in every industry experience vigour, dedication and immersion at least once a week (Hakanen 2011, 39).
Figure 1. Vigour, dedication and absorption
Work that satisfies the basic needs is meaningful. An organization has the opportunity to either lose the employee's best potential or to make it flourish, allowing the employee to experience the engagement of work. (Hakanen 2011, 34)
Work engagement can make a significant difference for employees and give a competitive advantage for organizations (Bakker et al. 2008, 188). It is considered to have a positive impact on job performance in many ways. Employee who feels that his or her work is meaningful is more productive (Hakanen 2009, 33). People who experience high level of work engagement are also more initiative and have a more positive connection regarding the desire to learn (Sonnentag 2003, 525). Work engagement has furthermore been shown to have a positive impact on business performance indicators such as profitability (Harter et al. 2002, 274), it has been proven to have a positive effect on providing good mental health (Parzefall & Hakanen 2010, 4) and reduced sick leave for employees (Schaufeli et al. 2009, 893). Finally, it has been associated with overall life satisfaction and happiness in the work context and less predictive of depression (Hakanen & Schaufeli 2012, 417).
Regarding current trends in work engagement research, over the past two decades there has been a rapid increase regarding the quantity of research on work engagement. Earlier research has shown that job resources and personal resources are positively connected to work engagement (Mauno et al. 2010). The most recent studies have begun to explore work
Vigour
Absorption
Dedication
engagement’s more distal predictors; the ones that can predict personal and job resources, and indirectly influence on work engagement. Research has shown that human resources practices, for instance job redesign, may have a positive impact on work engagement, especially through their influence on job resources. (Alfes et al. 2013, 347). Still there is much to study when it comes to work engagement and there is still relatively little research compared to traditional problem-centric research.
2.2.2 Burnout
The connection that employee has with his work, and difficulties that might arise when that relationship goes to wrong tracks, has long been recognized as an important phenomenon of today’s the modern age. The usage of the term of burnout has begun to appear in 1970’s in the United States, particularly among HR. It can be considered remarkable that the importance of burnout as a social problem was recognized by social commentators and practitioners already long before it became a focus of systematic research of scientists. (Schaufeli et a. 2006, 398) Burnout was at first a concept difficult to define and there was not a standard definition for it.
Different people used the term to mean different things and there was not a basis for constructive discussions about the problem and nor solutions for it. (Schaufeli et a. 2006, 402) Now definition that is often utilized is following;
Burnout is a syndrome of emotional overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of reduced personal accomplishments, cynicism and depersonalization that can occur among people who do some type of work. (Maslach & Leiter 2016, 103)
As previously briefly described with the definition of burnout there are three components that characterizes burnout. These are feelings of reduced personal accomplishment, exhaustion and depersonalization. Emotional exhaustion implies to the feelings when one is overextended and exhausted because of the emotional demands of the work. Depersonalization on the other hand refers to detached and cynical response to the receivers of one's service or care. Lastly, reduced personal accomplishment is used to describe self-evaluation when one is no longer effective in working with recipients and in fulfilling his responsibilities at work (Maslach & Leiter 2016,
104). Studies have shown an overlap between emotional exhaustion and stress reactions (van Dam 2016, 1-2)
Table 1.Conceptual model of work-specific and general well-being (Hakanen & Schaufeli 2012)
Work engagement and burnout have often been seen as opposite phenomena of each other. Yet as Hakanen and Schaufeli (2016) brought up work engagement and burnout are actually not direct opposite, but both have unique, incremental impacts on life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Negative (e.g. burnout) and positive (e.g. engagement) states and experiences at work are related to well-being. Conceptual model of the work-specific and general well-being can be described as the table above presents. In work-related well-being, that contains being work engagement, the positive state, and lacking burnout symptoms; the negative state, the general well-being can also be seen as more than just lacking depressive symptoms. General well-being is formed by the presence of a positive state; being satisfied with the life one has.
(Hakanen & Schaufeli 2012, 416-417)
Figure 2. A two-dimensional view of work-related subjective well-being (Bakker & Oerlemans, 2011, 181. Adapted from Russell, 1980)
Work engagement can also be characterised with a figure created by Bakker and Oerlemans (2011) above which illustrates the balance between activation levels and how pleasant employee finds the job. The circle has been divided into four categories: workaholism, burnout, job satisfaction and work engagement. Figure provides a presentative picture of how work engagement can be looked at in comparison to burnout and what kind of emotions can be associated to each part. It demonstrates subjective well-being in relation of work that includes job satisfaction, work engagement and happiness at work.
2.2.3 Flow
Every time a person enjoys what he is doing or exceeds orinary states of experiences he reports a specific change in attentional process. In order for achieving pleasurable experiences the focus of attention needs to be narrowed down extensively on the one stimuli involved. This can be
Tranquil Calm
Relaxed Content
Work
Engagement Workaholism
Burnout Job
Satisfaction
PLEASANT
LOW ACTIVATION UNPLEASANT
HIGH ACTIVATION
Gloomy sad Fatigued
Lethargic Dejected
Excited
Happy Enthusiastic
Energized
Pleased Agitated
Angry Hostile Irritated Tense
called concentration, the internsively focused attention. It can be achieved for example when playing tennis or working at the peak of one’s capacity. Some also describe this kind of state as flow. (Csikszentmihalyi 2014, 6-7)
Work engagement is a broad term that incorporates flow and together with environmental and behavioural aspects (Macey et al. 2009).
Flow can be described as a short-term peak experience that is characterized by enjoyment, absorption and intrinsic motivation (Bakker 2005, 37).
Even though work engagement is often observed as more persistence and enduring concept, flow is considered part of engagement and connected to it. (Medhurst & Albrecht 2016) It can also be seen that when experiencing the state of flow there needs to be a balance between challenges and skills. It is important to find the balance in order for tasks being appropriate in accordance to individual’s skills and competences. Taking into account uniqueness of each individual and finding the right person for each position makes it possible to find flow from the emotions of arousal, anxiety, boredom, worry, apathy, relaxation, control and flow. These emotions can be found in different places of challenge and skills scale. (Csikszentmihalyi 1997)
2.3 Societal Resources
The nature of the work has changed and is still changing (Hakanen 2004, 291). As Allvin and Aronsson (2003, 103) describe previous traditional work was not limited only by working hours, weeks and even minutes but it was also limited in geographical location. In addition, it was carefully organized both horizontally (standardized procedures and controlled sequencing) and vertically (strict hierarchical structures). Thus, in traditional work, the area of non-working time was also clear: what happened outside the workplace and during working hours. In today’s environment for more and more people, work has become looser in terms of working hours and locations.
The transition to post-industrial society requires a change in the way we think about work. As Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps said economics do not adequately capture enthusiasm and motivation that are today crucial for organizations’ financial success. It is often that the passive
level of satisfaction is measured when the active level of enthusiasm should be measured.
(Martela & Jarenko 2014, 3)
When looking at societal resources it can be argued that it is possible to find different societal ways for supporting work engagement. In Finland, new jobs are and will be created in creative and demanding industries and internal motivation is not just a way to recruit the best talent and the ability to regenerate in the economy is the essential for organizational success. Instead of just raising the retirement age, we should think about what changes needs to be made in order for people wanting to continue to work at older age, for example on a part-time basis. (Martela
& Jarenko 2014)
In today’s high-speed, multi-channel environment with requirements for flexibility and distance work work-life balance has also become increasingly important in consideration of employees’
health. The usage of electronic tools that are utilized somewhere else than in a traditional working place has steadily increased. (Hill et al. 2003)
The mobilization of work affects also to work engagement. As Bakker (2008) describes studies have revealed that workers who are engaged are capable of psychologically detaching themselves from work in their nonworking time and companies ought to try to encourage employees’ work engagement. Derks, Duin, Tims and Bakker (2015) argue that teams should try not to create expectations towards one another being available also following the “regular”
working hours at the office as it does not result in satisfied personnel. In contrast if an individual is willing to work in any time at any place in very flexible ways it is more likely to result as an engaged employee. It can therefore be further argued that both the organization as well profits from mobile, enthusiastic and healthy individuals.
When looking at the societal resources it should be kept in mind that as the world is changing and moving towards continuous availability of employees, the line between work and free time blurs and the utilization of human psychological, mental capital resources of employees keeps on growing, societal resources for supporting work engagement is essential in order for keeping employees engaged, energised and able of staying up to the speed required from them.
Understanding individualistic possibilities, as working situations today vary greatly between individuals, providing possibilities for balancing out the combination of working, free-time, and sleeping in order for supporting each individuals’ health is important from societal points of views as well.
Person’s intrinsic motivation is at its strongest when he or she feels of being capable of realizing own potential and participating in something greater than oneself. At the company level this means that managers have the task of creating the shared vision that all employees work towards. But the need for a common vision is emerging also at national level. Finland's future survival and success depends on our ability to support each employee of finding a job where he has the opportunity to experience enthusiasm and work towards a common goal. Intrinsic motivation, competitiveness and people's well-being go hand in hand. The more excited the employees, the better for the Finnish economy and the better for the well-being and happiness of the individuals as well. (Martela & Jarenko 2014) There are different ways of encouraging individuals of finding their passion also in working life and defend stages where individuals can be encouraged for finding their intrinsic motivation. Increasing awareness of the subject is essential in order for supporting employee engagement on societal level.
2.4 The Job Demands-Resources Model
Together with the development of the work engagement construct, the research of work engagement’s antecedents and consequences is based on the Job Demands-Resources model (Borst et al. 2019, 375). The JD‐R model was initially developed to predict job burnout. During past fifteen years, the model has been developed in to a theory that can predict occupational well‐being, range of organizational behaviours and all types of outcomes. The JD-R model is a comprehensive job characteristics model that tries to give explanations for both ill-health and motivation at work. (Demerouti et al. 2001) The roots of the JD-R model are in the balance models of job stress, for example the demands-control model, that assumes that the combination of great job demands and low job control causes job stress, and in the effort-reward imbalance model, which assumes that an imbalance between effort and reward leads to job stress (Karasek 1979).
Job requirements are physical, psychological, social or organizational factors such as noise, time pressure, workplace atmosphere problems and job insecurity, which may become stressful unless an employee has an opportunity to have a sufficient recovery. Resource factors are consistently physical, psychological, social or organizational factors that are relevant to the performance of the work essential, reduce workload and create personal growth, learning and development. These include for example, good opportunities for influence at work, feedback
or good leadership. (Upadyaya et al., 2016, 102) The figure below (figure 3), adopted from Bakker (2008), illustrates the balance of these different elements.
Previous researches have proven that job resources and personal resources are important predictors of work engagement. It can be seen that these resources satisfy employees’
psychological needs. Working places where the level of work resources is high foster work engagement, especially in situations when job demand levels are high. (Bakker et al. 2010)
Figure 3. Job Demands- Resources model (Bakker 2011, 267)
In the JD‐R theory there lies an assumption that each company can be characterized by two sets of job characteristics, job demands and resources. The model suggests that job resources and demands initiate two separate processes, that is a health‐impairment process and a motivational process. Therefore, if job demands are consistently high an employee may become overly exhausted, with for example the work load or time pressure, and start to experience health
Job Resources
Personal Resources
Job Demands
Work
Engagement Performance
Job crafting
problems such as burnout symptoms that weaken effective functioning. Work engagement and motivation is facilitated by job resources which have a positive indirect impact also on work behaviours and job performance. (Bakker 2017, 322-323)
In conclusion it can be characterized that the JD-R model is an empirically validated and straightforward model that reveals relationships between job (and personal) characteristics, employee well-being, leadership and outcomes. Fundamentally, it states that by reducing job demands, increasing job resources and encouraging ‘engaged’ leadership it enhances work engagement and prevents burnout. (Schaufeli 2017, 122)
2.4.1 Personal Resources
An element of personal resources is another part of JD-R model that can be seen to interact with job resources. Even though personal resources are not the primary focus of this research recognizing its construction and importance regarding work engagement is a vital part of understanding the JD-R model. Characteristics that are part of personal resources include for example; self-efficacy, self-esteem and optimism (Bakker & Demerouti 2008, 214).
Personal resources can be characterized as positive self-evaluations that are connected to resiliency and which refer to individual’s sense of ability of being able to control and impact upon his or her environment (Hobfoll et al. 2003, 632). Personal resources function in protecting threats and associating physiological and psychological costs, achieving goals and stimulating personal development (Xanthopoulou et al. 2009, 236). If an employee experience for example high levels of optimism he or she might not burn out so easily.
Positive self-evaluation relates to different aspects of well-being at work (Judge et al. 2004) because the higher the personal resources are, the more positive individuals’ self-regard is.
Moreover, it is probable that employee experiences high levels of accordance between the goals they set and their own abilities (Judge 2005, 257). Unlike personality traits that are stable and somewhat fixed, personal resources can be seen as being flexible and open for development (Xanthopoulou et al. 2009, 236).
Personal resources should also be taken into consideration when developing job resources, as one affects to another. It is also important to understand the role of individualistic characteristics when it comes to personal resources and pounder how personal resources of each employee can
be further developed and employed. Understanding the potential of providing possibilities for developing personal resources is important when it comes to getting employees to experience work engagement.
2.4.2 Job Resources
Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli (2001, 501) describe job resources as organizational, social, physical or psychological characteristics of work which can bring personal development, growth and learning − and positive state of work engagement that do not only decrease negative effects of job demands but also help in achieving work goals. Borst, Kruyen and Lako (2019, 374) argue that instead of treating all job resources in the work engagement theory equally it could be useful to produce classes of job resources and analyse whether these vary in their significance when enabling work engagement.
Lack of job resources can also negatively affect work engagement. The presence of sufficient job resources decreases job demands, encourages personal development and fosters goal achievement. Consecutively, this can lead to a higher level of participation in terms of organizational dedication to the work and therefore to a reduced intention of leaving the organization. (Bakker et al. 2003, 396)
Previous studies have shown that there are several job resources, that include for example co- worker’s encouragement or supervisor’s feedback, which can lead to work engagement and to flow at work (Demerouti 2006). Mauno, Kinnunen and Ruokolainen (2007) have discovered that among Finnish health care personnel organization-based self-esteem and job control are the greatest predictors of dimensions of work engagement.
Job resources play an important role in this research as the focus is specifically in identifying the possible ways for supporting work engagement through job resources from leadership perspective with appreciative approach. The study will utilize the previous research done within the field and take into consideration what prior study have found regarding how job resources can be supported. Still taking into account the research done the aim is to create a new figure for providing a holistic picture of the possible elements for supporting work engagement from leadership perspective and use the JD-R model as the starting point.
2.4.3 Job Demands
As it can be seen from the figure 3 that presents the JD-R model, job demand play an important role when it comes to work engagement. As Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, and Schaufeli (2001, 501) describe job demands refer to the physical, social, or organizational aspects of work that require sustained physical or mental effort and are thus linked to certain physiological and psychological costs. It is important to consider that job demands cannot be looked at as being solely negative. Still they can turn into stressors when requirements to meet them are too high or when there are too many different demands at the same time and have negative effect in accordance (Bakker et al. 2003, 395).
There are different factors that can be considered as job demands. These include for example physical workload, pressure of time, recipient contact and shift work. Individual can for example experience that there is too much work to do in too little time or that there is not enough time to recover from tasks done. Qualitative or quantitative workload is a work environmental demand which eventually appears as increased burnout symptoms or decreased work engagement. Therefore, from work engagement perspective they play an important role and might not be able to be solely compensated by increasing job resources. If there are too extreme stressors of job demands it can finally lead to exhaustion and early exit from work life.
(Demerouti et al. 2001, 502)
Demerouti et al. (2001) propose that to prevent employees' exhaustion, specific job demands must be reduced or redesigned. Additionally, it is described that by increasing job resources it is possible to enhance employees' engagement in accordance to job demands. Again it should be noticed that for some individuals the same amount of job demands can appear overwhelming while for another one this amount can be appropriate and he or she might consider for example time pressure motivating.
2.4.4 Job Crafting
One part of JD-R model is job crafting. Job crafting can be described as physical and psychological changes that an employee makes to his or her tasks or that he makes in relation of boundaries of the work’ (Wrzesniewski & Dutton 2001, 179). The proactive change in work can be considered as an important part of job crafting (van den Heuvel et al. 2015). Hence job
crafting has been included into the JD-R model to describe the specific mechanisms of how employees can redesign work characteristics (Bakker et al., 2014). Tims and Bakker (2010, 4) further describe that in the JD-R conceptualization, individual crafts his job by increasing or decreasing the levels of job demands and job resources.
Job crafting can be seen to include different ways of how the alternation of work can be achieved. Firstly, the type and number of tasks and activities employee has can be changed so that he or she has less or more tasks. Secondly one can alter the way he or she interacts with other employees. For example, a separate office can be seen in some situations to increase efficiency. And finally, employee can change how he or she cognitively frame the significance of the work such as reframing responsibilities to create work that is more meaningful (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001, 179-181).
It has been researched (by van den Heuvel et al. 2015) that job crafting intervention may have ability to support workers to proactively create a motivating working environment and to improve their well-being. It has also been revealed that proactive individuals strive for congruence with their environment when it comes to capabilities and needs which shape the working environment so that their job demands and resources fit better to their abilities and needs (Tims & Bakker, 2010). It can be argued that the relationship between work engagement and job crafting is dynamic (Bakker, 2011). The causal positive relationship between job crafting and work engagement, a reversed causal relationship, is also probable (Bakker et al.
2012, 1363).
2.5 Theoretical Framework of the Study
In this thesis, I investigate how work engagement can be encouraged from leadership perspective. This leadership viewpoint provides a unique possibility to try to understand how work engagement is currently in today’s organizations encouraged. Encouraging work engagement is a multilateral phenomenon that can be seen to be affected by different elements.
To present the viewpoint taken, I have created a theoretical framework based on the previous studies on job demands and resources together with considering personal and societal aspects while paying attention to the theory and foundation of work engagement:
The focus points presented above show the theoretical framework and describe the previous research relevant for this study. This also provides the bases for the research question; How work engagement can be encouraged through leaderships perspective and reasons for the choice of method.
As the theory and foundation of work engagement roots from positive psychology, its solution oriented and positive practices, it can be seen appropriate to look at work engagement with solution oriented approach with the aim of finding out the practices and elements that are working in the case organizations. The utilization of appreciative approach allows to frame the interview questions so that the focus is rather positive and concentrate on solutions and optimal functioning when analysing the data. When looking at the quantity of research with problem centric viewpoint it is clear that research conducted with appreciative approach, with positive perspective, seeking to find solutions and strengthening practices can be seen vital.
Theory and foundation of
work engagement
Personal and societal resources Job demands,
resources and crafting
Figure 4. Theoretical framework in this study
How work engagement can be
encouraged through leadership?
3 RESEARCH METHODS
In this chapter the sample, research method and analysis of the data will be presented. I will start by giving a short introduction of the sample and data collection and move on to describing the chosen method and its advantages for this type of research. After this I will describe the analysis of the data and discuss the ethics and limitations of the research. The chosen method in this research was semi-structured interviewing i.e. theme interviewing.
3.1 Data Collection and the Sample
There were five interviews in this research. These were conducted with semi-structured interviewing in June and July 2019 in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The interviews were audiotaped which made it possible for the interviewer to listen and better to interact in the interviewing situation and this also minimised chances for misinterpretations. The taping equipment was checked before the interview to make sure everything was working properly.
Two pre-discussion meetings were done in May 2019 together with Mika Ikkala in Espoo and with Klaus Kuhanen in Vantaa. Based on those meetings recommended literature was read and other potential interviewees contacted. All the contacted persons were willing to participate in the research.
PARTICIPANTS DATE OF THE COLLECTION
LENGTH OF AN INTERVIEW
(min.sec.) Pre-discussion
Meeting
Mika Ikkala, local area manager in Vantaa,
Arjessa Oy
May 6, 2019
Pre-discussion Meeting
Klaus Kuhanen, CEO, JCDecaux Finland Oy
May 10, 2019 Interview Juha Suojanen, CEO,
EkoRent Oy
May 31, 2019 31.36
Interview Mika Ikkala, local area manager in Vantaa,
Arjessa Oy
June 13, 2019 59.01
Interview Mia Kainulainen, HR Specialist, JCDecaux
Finland Oy
June 17, 2019 55.51
Interview Klaus Kuhanen, CEO, JCDecaux Finland Oy
June 17, 2019 40.43
Interview Katja Vastamäki, Executive Director in Helsinki metropolitan
area, Arjessa Oy
June 18, 2019 58.31
Table 2. Data collection
The sample was gathered with a snowballing technique. The purpose of a qualitative research is to describe a specific phenomenon and try to understand it and it is therefore significant that, for example, when studying people, they know about the phenomenon. The choices of participants should therefore be well thought out and appropriate rather than random. (Tuomi
& Sarajärvi 2002, 88-89) In this research it was essential for the participants to have knowledge about the subject so that they were able to discuss organizational practices regarding it. In this type of qualitative research random sampling would have been an unsuitable method.
Through a social contact I was recommended to interview Mika Ikkala. He works in an organization called Arjessa as a manager and has twelve subordinates. We decided to set up a meeting and from this meeting I got recommendations to interview also an executive director of the organization in Arjessa, Katja Vastamäki and the CEO of JCDecaux Finland Klaus
Kuhanen. Klaus Kuhanen recommended me to interview also the HR specialist at JCDecaux Finland Mia Kainulainen and besides these to bring perception of a small organization Juha Suojanen, CEO of a start-up called EkoRent was interviewed.
Regarding the organizations, EkoRent is a start-up company founded in 2014. EkoRent has four workers from which one is part time. The organization operates in hourly based electric car renting and sharing services field in Finland. EkoRent Africa Ltd. which was founded in 2017, opened an all-electric taxi service Nopia Ride in Nairobi in August 2018. (EkoRent 2019) Arjessa Oy is a national organization providing care services for individuals and families and it is stated that the goal is to increase well-being of individuals and families. Arjessa is part of the Nordic Humana Group. Humana has over 15,000 employees in Sweden, Finland and Norway. Arjessa operations are based on small, customer-oriented and well-known local units that has overall 1 300 employees (Arjessa 2019). Katja Vastamäki is in charge of three teams and told that those include approximately 100 employees (Vastamäki, interview).
JCDecaux Finland Oy is part of JCDecaux Group and in Finland the main fields of business are street furniture, point of sale and transport products. Outdoor advertisement started already in 1946, when the company was called Oy Ulkomainos Ab. In 1985 the name was changed to Maximedia. The cooperation with JCDecaux Group started in 1989. Currently JCDecaux Finland employs about 69 professionals from various fields of expertise with revenue of 29 million euros (2017). (JCDecaux 2019)
3.2 Semi-Structured Interviewing
There are three broad areas of study to which qualitative methods can be favourably applied;
individual lived experience, language and communication and society and culture. In this study all of these studies are linked to the subject but the focus of these is mainly on the individual’s experiences. In qualitative interviewing, it should in general ask research questions starting with
“how” instead of “how much.” (Brinkmann 2013, 18.). As business environments are changing and markets worldwide are becoming more open as the market economy is embraced by most governments and through the efforts to reduce tariffs by trade groupings (Goffin 2005, 6) we need also qualitative ways to research the field. Everything cannot be numerically coded and sometimes it is essential to dig deeper than what can be done with pre-set of questions. There
are subjects that cannot be studied solely through quantitative methods and fields that require finding out personal experience, ideas and thoughts.
Semi-structured interview method can be described as an interview with the objective of obtaining descriptions of a world of an individual for interpreting the meaning of the described phenomena (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009, 3–4). Interviewing in the semi-structured format is probably the most widespread method in the human and social sciences and is sometimes the only format given attention in textbooks on qualitative research (Flick, 2007, 90–92). The researcher sets up the questions, but the interviewee can answer them with their own words and sometimes even suggest new questions. The interviewee may also depart from the order of questions. In this research the aim was to develop a conversation type of a situation and to listen the answers of the participants to not to end up asking questions again that have already been answered.
Well-presented semi-structured interviews can be an extremely effective method. Efficiency is based on the researcher’s ability to guide the interview without controlling it completely.
Carefully designed and performed interview is a motivating experience that people can easily agree to. (Koskinen et al. 2005, 104–105.) Following this the aim already when forming the interview questions was to leave room for open discussion and additional questions to provide extensive answers and personal experiences of the participants.
Qualitative research interview attempts to understand the world from the subjects’ point of view, to unfold the meaning of peoples’ experiences and to be able to uncover their lives.
Conversations are basic modes of human interaction and through them we get to truly know other people, learn about their experiences, feelings and hopes and worlds they live in. When recognizing the importance of the capabilities of the interviewer with semi-structured interview one might be able to get a thorough understanding of the subject that contains individual's subjective experience. Such information would be difficult, if not impossible, to collect with precoding or by observing. (Kvale 2007, 1–2) When conducting the interviews, the aim was to keep the conversation situation easy going and not too formal. As the subject being researched was important to the participants as well the conversation flew freely and aroused a lot of thoughts.
As the weaknesses of the method were taken into account and the possible pitfalls were covered semi-structured interviewing was able to provide exceptional possibility to view an area with
the right amount of structure. It provided an opportunity to uncover meanings and thoughts that otherwise could have be unfound. (Rabionet, S. 2011, 563–566). Due to the level of research regarding the subject and the size of the sample in this specific research, semi-structured interviewing was the best method for this type of research. Through this method it was possible to provide an answer to the research question and to reveal hidden practices, thoughts and experiences regarding the subject.
As the research did not seek to be problem centric but the aim was rather to focus on the positive aspects and solutions the interviewing and analyses was conducted with appreciative approach that seeks strengths in individuals and organizations which give health, vitality, and excellence to the development of the systems (Cooperrider & Whitney 2005, 2) With the complex phenomena of encouraging work engagement, it was possible to provide new solutions to the field and find out the best practices in use. The interview questions in this research were formulated so that the perspective remained positive and, in the analysis as well, positive elements were highlighted and brought up.
3.3 Analysis of the Data
Qualitative research analysis is a process of making sense of narrative data (Tesch 2013, 4). In this research qualitative methods of analysis were used in the process. More precisely inductive content analysis was utilized where central themes of the interviewed are extracted from frequently occulting themes (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008). The concepts from previous research and theory were utilized when analysing the data. The analysis of the material started by listening the interview tapes so that the content of the material and the interview situation would be well remembered by the researcher. The recorded interviews were written word-to- word, transcribing the transcripts into Word files. There was a total of 68 pages of transcribed material with a line spacing of 1.5 and a font size of 12. After transcription, the material was analysed by inductive content analysis. After transcribing, the materials were read several times to get a complete picture of the data. Then the main points were underlined in contrast to the research questions.
The original expressions that emerged from the underlining were further modified into simplified expressions, with the aim of preserving the substance as precisely as possible. The expressions were formed into subdivisions that formed sub-categories of analysis. By
combining the sub-categories according to the similarities and differences, the top categories of the topics were formed.
The interviews were done in Finnish speaking organizations and therefore all interviews were completed in Finnish. The data was first analysed in Finnish and when the analyzation was done it was then translated to English. For being able to provide insides to the discussions, several quotations were translated. For translations dictionaries and translation programs were used as for keeping the original ideas of the quotes as close to the original expressions as possible.
The analysis in the empirical part is rather descriptive as there are only five interviewees.
Descriptive analysation makes it possible to provide a holistic presentation of the subject instead of giving a deeper focus only to a specific element. Describing a complex phenomenon in this type of research does not delve too deeply into a particular area but presents all the elements with a comprehensive style.
3.4 Ethics
“Is it ethical?” is a question that can always be asked about the research proposal, the actual pieces of the research, as well as about the use of particular methods, the publication of the findings, or even about the adoption of particular theoretical perspectives of the study (Hammersley & Traianou 2012). Ethics can be seen to concern the morality of the human conduct (Mauthner 2002, 14–15). Ethical questions need be considered already before conducting the actual research and when choosing the method and the sample. When considering a sample, the researcher must for example think if the method of accessing the sample raise ethical concerns. What can be done to diminish and anticipate ethical dilemmas in terms of the specific topic of the research and the issues it raises personally and socially for those involved? (Mauthner 2002, 28-30). The questions and subjects presented in this research were carefully pondered and made sure that all the participants understood the subjects researched.
Regarding anonymity the participants were provided a possibility to give an interview anonymously. Interviewees were in early stages informed that the data was collected for a thesis and the purposes and goals of the research were presented. The interviewees had the possibility to look at the translated quotes also after the research, but no changes were made. Participants
nor researcher did not see any reason why the interview should be conducted with anonymity particularly as the data was collected and analysed with a appreciative, solution-oriented method with the aim of highlighting the positive practices in use.
In business research, how to handle trust situations can be problematic. Trust issues might come up for example if a researcher has interviewed employees in a company where the access and consent has been granted by the management, and interviews bring forward mistrust towards leadership skills (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008, 66). The researcher must also be careful not to lead the participant in a specific direction (Byrne 2001, 233–235). The aim was to set aside interviewees’ own behaviour, attitudes, beliefs and values (Bryman and Bell 2013, 209).
Participants were able to describe their own thoughts without interference. Although one might think that qualitative interviews are easy to do, they actually are not, and it is even more difficult to analyse them well (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008, 78–79). Therefore, the data was carefully studied before analysation was started and the categorisation of research outcomes were thoroughly pondered and revisited several times before final categories were decided.
4 EMPIRICAL RESULTS
In this research the focus was on elements for supporting work engagement through job resources; psychological, the physical, social, or organizational aspects of work which, not only potentially reduce the negative effects of job demands and help to achieve work goals, but can also stimulate personal development, learning and work engagement’s positive status (Demerouti et al. 2001). The JD-R model was used as a starting point for the research but a new model of supporting work engagement through job resources was further created. The figure below (figure 5) presents the original model with the added areas; organizational, tactical and cultural levels, and in furthter on page 38 the whole new chart created will be presented.
Figure 5. New Job Demands- Resources model (Modified from Bakker 2011, 267)
The first upper, organizational level includes structural, hierarchical and long-term approaches.
The tactical level contains managerial elements such as feedback giving and rewarding, taking Job Resources
Personal Resources
Job Demands
Work Engagement Cultural level
Tactical level Organizational
level
